Morning Routine

The Idea of the Week

First, reflect on your current morning routine and what your preferences are. 

1. What do you do first thing in the morning? 
2. What do you like about your current routine and what don’t you like about it? 
3. If you had the time and resources, what would your ideal morning routine look like?
4. What do you need in the morning to feel refreshed and awake?
5. What do you need in the morning to give you the energy you need for the rest of the day, whether it is mental, physical, or spiritual?

Journal it out or discuss it with someone. Often, it’s easier to come up with new ideas and thoughts when you can release your previous thoughts, knowing they are saved externally and won’t be lost.

As every morning begins, let’s begin with a couple of tips on waking up. 

1. Make your alarm work for you, not against you.

What is the first thing you hear in the morning? A blaring alarm that you dread and dislike that tears you from a restful sleep? How does it feel to wake up that way? (Personally, that is a sure way to have a grumpy morning.)

For some people, it’s what they need to wake up. But, if you are feeling experimental, try an alarm that is more gentle—a sound that doesn’t make you want to throw your alarm across the room. 

• If you have an iPhone, you can set up a sleep schedule and change the sound of your morning alarm to a nature-sound that gradually grows louder. 
• If you have an Android, Sleep as Android and Google Clock are recommended alarm apps that also integrate Spotify, so you can wake up to your favorite playlist.

2. Wake with your sleep cycle.

When you wake up, how do you feel? If you feel disorientated and groggy, it might be because you woke up in the middle of your sleep cycle. If you feel wide awake, it might be because you woke up between sleep cycles.

A sleep cycle is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. For a smoother transition from sleeping to waking up and facing the new day, aim to wake up during the light sleep phase, or between sleep cycles.

You don’t have to do the calculations though. Instead, you can use this sleep calculator to do the calculations for you. Just tell it what time you want to wake up, and when you should fall asleep, or vice versa.

The Practice of the Week

Now, our challenge for you this week is to think of one thing you want to change, one thing that will bring you closer to what you need in the morning. Then make the change small, make it a tiny increment.

If you want to read a book in the morning, then start with one paragraph. If you want to start exercising in the morning, start with five jumping jacks. If you want to go for a run, put on your running gear and walk around your home.

Make it small and easy to do so you do not have to use a lot of mental exertion to get yourself to do the thing. 

To get your thinking started, here are 20 things you could add to your morning routine to change things up.

1. Let the light in. Letting natural sunlight into your room can be a simple way to boost your energy levels. It lets our bodies know that it’s time to wake up. So open up those curtains, or step outside for a few moments to bring the sunlight in.
2. Swap screen time for breathing time. If you tend to reach for your phone in the morning to wake yourself up, try swapping it for deep breathing exercise.
3. Set an intention for the day.
4. Send a morning message to a loved one.
5. Doodle a morning message onto the newspaper, a notepad, or the whiteboard on your fridge.
6. Drink a glass of water before your first cup of coffee.
7. If your work is within walking or biking distance, try walking or biking to work for one day.
8. Or get off the train one stop earlier to walk the rest of the way.
9. Or ask someone to carpool with you for a day.
10. Put down a few pieces of a puzzle. Doing morning mental exercises can boost your cognitive function. Here are some digital puzzles you can try:
    • Connections: Organize 16 words into 4 categories.
    • GeoGuessr: You land in any place in the world and have to guess where in the world you are!
    • Sudoku: Enter numbers into a 3×3 box so that each box, row, and column contains the numbers 1 through 9 without repeating.
    • Crosswords: You have a grid of blank squares and clues that guide you to determine the correct words. Each word intersects with others and has shared letters.
    • Solitaire: A card game where the goal is to arrange the cards into ascending order by suit, from Ace to King.
    • If you are studying a language, flip through some vocab flashcards from your target language in the morning. Anki is a great source to find pre-made flashcards and practice every day.
11. Have a morning stretch. Move your body and stretch out your all of your muscles.
12. Listen to a favorite playlist.
13. Or listen to a podcast.
14. Or practice an instrument and make music. 
15. Light a candle, or find something with a refreshing scent. 
16. Spend a couple of minutes playing with or petting your pet.
17. Wash your face with cool water. 
18. Set a timer for two minutes to tidy up.
19. Decide and set out your outfit the night before. Reducing the amount of decisions you have to make in the morning can help you overcome decision fatigue.
20. Prepare your breakfast the night before.

News of the Week

Join Tati, back by popular demand, for her next series of Family Constellations and Sharing of Ancestral Knowledge Workshops!

Tati owns a healing and psychotherapy practice working with sacred plant medicine, ancestral healing, and art therapy in her home in Ecuador. Join Tati for her return in October and the next series of workshops and healing sessions.

Family Constellations is a type of therapeutic approach that focuses on exploring the dynamics within a person’s family system, including their relationships with parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members, even ancestors. This approach can be used to address a variety of issues, such as relationship difficulties, emotional blocks, and unresolved traumas.

This workshop involves a group of participants who come together to explore their own family dynamics through a series of exercises and discussions led by our facilitator, Tatian Davila, a psychotherapist, healer, and seeker of ancestral knowledge. Tati will offer 2 workshops as well as individual healings. The workshops will be held at Breathing Space Studio in Erieville, NY.

The Family Constellations Workshop will be held on October 19-20, 2024. 

Tabacco Healing Ceremony will be held on October 26, 2024.

Both workshops will be held at Breathing Space Studio
3455 Erieville Road
Erieville, NY 13061

Individual Healing Sessions will be held in Fayetteville, NY from October 21st-25th.

Save Your Spot!

The Thought of the Week

Wishing you a peaceful week!